Six ways the GOP can save itself (but won't)

I don't mind sharing these tips (provided by Politico) because I know the GOP will ignore them. The KS GOP failed to over-ride a veto on coal, something their leadership made a top priority. Since November of 2006, multiple lawsuits were filed regarding unpaid salary. The last finance report for the KS GOP shows only slightly more than $4,000 (no, I didn't forget any zeros) cash on hand. With all these problems combined, I could walk into 2025 SW Gage Blvd. pass out copies of these suggestions, and it wouldn't help them a bit in November. It's good to be a Kansas Democrat this year.

1. Get a clue: Republicans desperately need to cook up some new ideas and craft an attractive agenda to have any chance of success. Former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney says it should be a modern edition of Newt Gingrich’s “Contract With America.”

2. Cut the crap: Republicans are dominating Democrats in one area right now: humiliating sex scandals. If former Rep. Mark Foley isn’t e-mailing young male pages or Sen. Larry Craig isn’t playing footsie in the bathroom, then Rep. Vito J. Fossella’s getting busted driving drunk and then admitting he fathered a love child. You can’t run on family values when you don’t practice them.

3. Beg for help: The Republican infrastructure is crumbling. Making matters worse, Democrats are erecting a pretty impressive network of donors, think tanks and activist groups that is exploiting the GOP’s structural weakness. The GOP “needs to realize what the opposition is and how formidable it is,” said former GOP leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). “The Democratic Party is organized chaos, but it is so much better than what we are doing.” It will take no less than three to five years to fix, smart Republicans estimate.

4. Burn the Bush: There is something honorable about loyalty. But taken too far, it can start to look downright loony to voters. President Bush is as unpopular as Richard Nixon was in the days before his resignation. Cut him loose — quick, says Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.). “We can go our own way with our own programs, and even disassociate ourselves from President Bush,” Davis said in a memo to fellow Republicans.

5. Change the pitch — and your face: Several well-known Republicans said the party needs fresh, reassuring packaging and a more diverse crowd to deliver it.

6. Fan the fear: Ignore the critics, Republican wise men say — there is still no better way to win than to stir up concerns about Democratic patriotism and their commitment to national security and killing terrorists. It often remains the best call in the GOP playbook, especially with McCain atop the ticket.